Home is where you are
by i have loved you
Summary: After 3x11. Jack visited Emily, and she remembered some stuff. But not everything, there's still much she can't recall. Still weak and scared, trapped at Greyson manor, this is what SHOULD have happened. Jemily all the way! And no Margaux/Jack relationship!
1. I wanna run to you, oh I wanna run to yo

_Summary: After 3x11. Jack visited Emily, and she remembered some stuff. But not everything, there's still much she can't recall. Still weak and scared, trapped at Greyson manor, this is what SHOULD have happened. Jemily all the way, no Aidan, and no Margaux/Jack relationship!_

CHAPTER 1: I wanna run to you, oh I wanna run to you

Emily groggily opened her eyes. Blinking a few times, before adjusting herself to the new surroundings around her. Where was she? This wasn't the hospital, this was a new place. Maybe someone had moved her to a different wing? No, this looked more like a bedroom in a house. A big one. Had she been here before? She tried to remember, but nothing came to her mind. Off course.

"Good morning".

Emily's gaze fell upon a woman. Victoria. Daniel's mother.

"Where am I?" Emily tried not to panic, but being in an unknown house, with people she just vaguely remembered, was scary enough.

"Well, at Grayson manor off course. Welcome home".

Grayson manor. Home. This was they're house, she remembered. No, she couldn't be here. She didn't want to.

"I don't understand, did my doctor discharge me?"

"Yeah. Straight into my care, and your nurse. We thought you'd be more comfortable here. You're a Greyson now, being around a familiar place and people should help on getting those memories back". Victoria smiled at her. It was a fake one, she could tell. Why on earth had she married into this family?

Emily had to admit, Victoria scared the hell out of her, and Daniel – who was supposed to be her husband, barely looked at her. He was so cold towards her, it felt like he had something against her. When he did look at her, it was no signs of love in his eyes, just darkness. What kind of marriage was this? She certainly didn't love him. To be fair, he scared her too. At least Charlotte – his sister, seemed kind. She had spent some time with her at the hospital, and she was actually nice. She had tried to help her with her memories, shoved her pictures and stuff, but nothing seemed to click. Until that man came in, Jack. He had seemed so familiar to her, like she had known him for years. He had kissed her forehead, and begged "Emily Thorne to come back". At first, she couldn't understand why everyone called her "Emily". She had this strong feeling inside that her name was Amanda. Then she remembered a woman. Another woman, named Amanda. With heavy curls, and brown eyes. She was Jack's wife, and she had died – in Emily's arms. Telling her to look after her family. There was also a boat, named Amanda. It had exploded, and that was how she had died. Emily and Nolan (she remembered him too) had saved Jack, but couldn't save Amanda. She gave her a necklace, with pictures of the two of them inside. The same one that Jack had given to her at the hospital. How she had known Amanda, was not yet totally clear to her, but she knew that she had been her friend. And she had a baby boy named Carl, with Jack. Her godson.

"Do you remember what happened to you?" Victoria cut in.

"No. I just remember lying in the water. I guess I blacked out after that". It was true. The doctor who had operated on her, had told her that she had been shot in the stomach. She remembered how cold she had been. Everything after that was still a blur.

Emily suddenly heard someone coming into her room. Daniel.

"What happened to your eye?" she could not help but ask. It seemed like someone had punched him. Hard.

"Nothing worth mentioning. Not compared to your injury".

"I brought Emily home so she could recover here. Especially since Lydia is still on the loose". Victoria told Daniel.

Lydia was currently the person the Grayson family blamed for the shooting. Emily could vaguely remember her. Short, light hair, with a yellow dress. She had no idea if Lydia was really to blame, but seeing as her memories of what happened was currently gone, there was little she could do about it.

Emily noticed the pained expression on Daniel's face. It didn't seem like he was happy to have her home. Actually, it didn't seem like he was happy to see her at all.

"I'll let you two talk". Victoria gave Emily a small smile, and kissed Daniel on the cheek before emerging out the door.

"You should probably rest". Daniel said, not even caring to meet her eyes. He just gave her a nod, and followed his mother out the door.

Emily let out a breath, and could feel the tears prickling behind her eyes. She felt so weak and scared. She was all alone in this godforsaken house. She didn't want to be married to Daniel, and she certainly didn't want to spend a minute longer in this house. She wanted to be somewhere safe. She wanted Jack. Of all the people who had been with her at the hospital, Jack had been the one she felt most safe with. He had been so calm and gentle with her, and not once did he try to push her to remember stuff about herself or the shooting. He had looked at her with such loving, deep blue eyes, and told her that she was the strongest person he had ever known. And she believed him. For a second, she had thought that he was about to kiss her, and her heart had literally jumped over a beat. But he seemed to change his mind, and instead he kissed her forehead.

* * *

"Mom, what the hell?" She could hear Daniel's angry voice yelling downstairs.

"For god's sake, keep your voice down!" Victoria yelled back.

Emily felt a lump in her throat, and her heart sped up. They were yelling about her. She heard they're voices downstairs, but couldn't make out what they were saying anymore.

Tears were spilling down her checks. She had to get out of here. Now. If she only had her phone to call someone. She didn't dare use the one on her night stand, afraid that someone would listen in on it. Even if she ran, she would still need someone to take care of her. Someone to help her with the bandages and stuff like that. Damn.

* * *

There was a knock on the door, and Victoria came in.

"Thought you might want a piece of cake before you go to bed".

"No thank you". She probably put some drugs in them, Emily thought.

"Well, then. I just wanted to give you this". Victoria handed her an envelope, it was from the hospital.

"When you were unconscious, the doctor came to Daniel with these test results. When you came to it, we feared that you weren't stable enough to face it. So we decided to wait until you got better, but now I'm not sure if I'm able to give it to you". Victoria looked at her with a serious face, which only made Emily more afraid. What more could there possibly be?

"What is it?" She nervously asked.

Victoria handed her the envelope. "Because of the location on the bullet holes, and the surgery you needed, sacrifices had to be made. I'm afraid that you won't be able to have kids".

Emily could feel the tears welling up again. She had always wanted children when she grew up, she wanted to be a mother. "You're lying". She choked out.

"No. feel free to talk to the doctor yourself, or seek a second opinion. You see, this is the reason that Daniel's been so distant with you. You gave him hope for an heir, only to have that taken away from him forever".

"Get out". Emily told her. How DARE she make this about Daniel of all people? This was about HER for god's sake!

"Fate can be so cruel".

Did she actually give her a smile? God, she hated that woman. After she left the room, Emily took the plate with the cake, and threw it at the wall. Kneeling on the floor crying. God, her stomach hurt.

She pushed herself up from the floor, and grabbed her bag in the corner. She went to the dresser and took out some underwear, pajamas shorts and tees. Then she grabbed a couple of bandages and put all of it in the bag. She was still in her hospital gown, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to leave this prison, and that fast. She carefully stepped out into the dark corridor. She knew there was a chance that she could be busted, but she had to take the chance anyway. With her heart thumping in her throat, and her stomach aching more than ever she carefully went down the stairs. She suddenly remembered the fire escape on the second floor, and went that way. She opened the window. Luckily without a sound, and climbed out.

When she reach the ground, she ran as fast as she possibly could with her injuries. She had no idea of what direction Jack's house was in, so the only thing she could do was take the direction that felt most familiar.

* * *

She must have been walking for hours, it was pitch dark outside, and the rain fell heavily from the sky. She was completely soaked, ice cold and shivering, hungry and most of all, she was tired and dizzy. One of her bandages hang loose, and there was some blood dripping from it. She was just about to give up, when she saw it. The stoaway. How she had gotten there, she had no idea. But here she was. At Jack's bar. She dragged her feet after her up the stairs to his door, and rang the doorbell.

Jack was reading a book on the bed. It was 1.00 AM, but somehow he couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about Emily. Of how she was trapped at Greyson manor. Nolan had tried to get in, with no luck. Her condition was still the same. Nolan had kept track on her journal since the surgery. That made him even more worried. With the state of mind she was in, who knew what the Greyson's could do to her. He thought about the last time he'd seen her, at the hospital. She was so unlike the person he was used to see. So fragile, scared and weak. Emily Thorne was nothing but scared. She was a fighter. Brave and strong. The strongest person he had ever known. His heart ached in his chest by thinking about her.

They had to do something to help her, at least get her out of that house she was currently in. He closed his eyes, and sighed. After everything that had happened between them before her wedding, a small part of him felt like this was partly his fault. If he hadn't been so damn mad at her, and pushed her to end this, then maybe this wouldn't have happened. If only he hadn't rejected her that day.

That day when he'd kissed her, downstairs at the bar. He hadn't planned to do that, it just happened. He just had to, one more time. She was so intoxicating, being this close to her made all of his rational thoughts disappear.

He could still remember all of it. How it felt to have her so close to him, how she tasted like, how her breath had tickled him, and he could still feel her hand down his neck. All of it, like it had happened only minutes ago.

"God, I need to stop this". Jack said out loud to himself.

He had been so mad at her, for lying to him about who she really was all this time. He had felt hurt and betrayed. Still, he knew that no matter how angry he was at her, he would never ever not be in love with her. He loved her. He had loved her since the day they had met 20 years ago. And even more in a grown-up way since the day Sammy had ran up to her in the park. He knew why now, she was Amanda. His Amanda. He was even a little angry at himself for not figuring out who she was when she came back. He had watched how Sammy had been around her, almost thinking it, but no. Her name was Emily, not Amanda. Why would she lie about that? Still, he always thought that there was something that didn't add up. Then, suddenly Amanda showed up. And he had been so blinded by his feelings for that little girl he had once met, that he found himself finding excuses for her behavior. All the time. This was the girl he had waited for his whole life. Then why was it that every time he was with her, kissed her or talked to her, there was a part of him – big part actually that longed for another girl. How could that make any sense? He had Amanda, which was all he had ever wanted. What was it about this girl, Emily that kept dragging him back to her?

God, he had been so stupid. When she finally confessed to him, it felt like a punch in the stomach. He understood though, why he felt that way about her.

Suddenly, his doorbell rang, and Jack snapped out of his thoughts. He glanced over at the clock – 1:00 AM, who in the world was at his doorstep at this time?

He grabbed a t-shirt, went out in the hallway, unlocked the door, and opened it. Only to have his heart stop. There, wearing only a hospital gown, drenched in water, shivering was a crying Emily. Only she looked more like Amanda. Tears was flowing freely down her cheeks, she looked scared and out of breath, she was barefoot, and there was blood marks on her gown.

Jack was speechless, he just stared at her.

"Ja-ack, I'm s-so so-rry, I-I didn't know wh-ere e-else to-o go". Emily stammered.

Then she noticed his outfit, and couldn't help but blush a little. She looked up at him again and continued.

"I just can-n't spend another mi-minute in tha-at house. I-m s-sorry if I w-oke you up. I-I just.. I'll go, I'm s-so stupid".

Like someone had turned on a switch, Jack came to it.

He reached for her hand. "Hey, don't you dare go any other place" he said softly to her. He grabbed her bag, and placed it in the hallway inside, before guiding her inside. He locked the door behind her, before taking her in his arms.

"God, I've been so worried about you". He whispered in her ear.

Emily swallowed hard, hearing him say that in that sweet voice of his only made her feel more vulnerable, and she felt herself clinging to him for dear life.

"Emily, your freezing". He could feel her cold body against his own. Only her forehead was hot as an own. He put his hand on it. She was practically burning up.

He looked at her. "Did you really walk all the way over here?"

"Yeah. I had to get out of there".

"My god. Okay, you need to change into something else than this". He looked at her soaked gown. "You probably need a shower too. Come here". Jack guided her towards the bathroom, and found a clean towel for her.

"Th-thank you so m-much". She was beyond grateful for him.

"No problem. I'll make you some food, okay". He was about to leave the room, when Emily said something.

"Ehm, Jack.. could-could you help me get this off? I can't put my hands over my head.."

"Oh, sure".

Jack was sure his hands were trembling. After they got her hands through, he bent down a little, and dragged the gown over her head. Leaving her in only a lace pink underwear and matching bra. He swallowed, trying not to stare at her. He knew that she was hurt, and probably in a lot of pain, but god was she beautiful. He put his hands on her shoulders, and carefully slid them down her arms while staring into her eyes.

Emily could feel her pulse rising, god this felt so good.

" _I'm Jack. I'm Amanda"._

" _I'll come back for you, I swear I'll come back for you"._

" _Ever since I first saw you, I knew there was something about you"._

" _I feel like this feeling, comes along once or twice in a lifetime if we're lucky"._

" _If I don't make it out of this, tell Jack that I love him"._

" _What are you going to tell him? Everything"._

" _Jack, look at me. I'm Amanda Clarke"._

Emily just stared at him while she remembered.

"Jack, I remembered something".

He smiled at her. "Good".

"I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you who I was". Tears were welling up again.

"Hey". Jack cupped her cheeks in his hands. "We've talked about this. I understand, okay?"

Emily just nodded. "I'm just so sorry anyways".

Jack took her in his arms again, and whispered "I know" to her.

They were interrupted by her rumbling stomach. And she couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Okay, take a shower now, and I'll make you some pancakes".

"With blueberries?"

"Yeah, with blueberries".

"Thank you, Jack. For everything".

"No problem".

"Eh, just one more thing". She turned her back to him, for him to unclasp her bra.

God, having his hands on her bare back, made her shiver. And she closed her eyes for just a second.

"Is there something else you need help with?"

Emily looked down. Was she supposed to ask him to take off her underwear too? She wasn't sure if she could handle that. Would he actually do that?

"I-I could just k-keep it on", she stuttered out.

Jack came in front of her again. And painfully slowly he pulled it down, never taking his eyes off of her. He could see her swallowing, and he could tell that she was as affected by this as he was. Her gaze lingered on his lips for a second before looking away.

"God, this is so embarrassing. I'm so helpless".

"Don't be, your beautiful". Jack's nose was slightly touching hers, and she let out a breath that tickled his skin. He was just about to lean in, when there was a cry from the room next door. Carl.

Jack exhaled. "I'll better go check on him".

And before she knew it, he was out the door.

She was speechless, what the hell had almost happened?

She had to take a minute to collect herself, before stepping into the shower.

 _She was wearing a long, pretty summer dress, and she was at the bar. Downstairs. Jack's forehead pressed against her own. And they shared a beautiful kiss filled with passion and need. What happened after, not so beautiful. And Emily remembered how deeply hurt and angry she had been after Jack rejected her._

God, she loved that man. So damn much. That was something she knew and remembered as clear as ever.


	2. Is there clarity in this insanity?

FINALLY! New chapter update! So sorry it took so long time, i'll try and update with the next chaper in a couple of days! And thank you sooo much to all of you who read this story, have reviewed/favourited and followed it! Makes me so happy :)

\- I'm sorry if you guys found it a bit hard to understand exactly how much/what Emily remembers, so I hope that it'll be more clear in this chapter. It may have seemed like she remembered who she was last chapter, but that's not the case. At all! You'll understand when you read this.

\- About Aiden: I know that I wrote in the summary that he's not in this story, but I changed my mind, so he's here after all. BUT this is a Jemily story, so don't worry! He and Emily will NOT have a romantic relationship! EVER! She belongs with Jack!

Hope you all enjoy this :)

* * *

 _CHAPTER 2: Is there clarity in this insanity?_

Emily carefully washed herself under the shower, and tried to avoid getting soap in her wound, which was a bit hard considering where it was located. She closed her eyes, and tried to avoid thinking about the sharp pain that shot through her body every time she got soapy water on it.

She thought about what had _almost_ happened before she got in the shower. She had almost kissed him. Her mind had gone completely blank, and all she could think about was how close they had been, his shaky breathing, and the fact that she had been completely naked in front of him. She completely forgot about her injuries for a second, and the fact that this man was practically a stranger. At least for now, with her memories gone, but at the same time, it felt like he had known her all her life. She just felt so damn safe with him.

Before that, she had a flash of memories from when she was a child, at least she thought that was her, and then some quick memories of when she was older. And they were all about her and Jack. Had they been in some kind of relationship before? And why had she told him that she was sorry that she hadn't told him who she was? That girl, Amanda, that was her right? So why was everyone calling her Emily now?

When she remembered telling Jack that she was Amanda Clarke, she suddenly felt like she'd lied to him about her real name. But why? She could not understand why she'd done that. Had she been in some kind of trouble before? She made a mentally note to ask Jack about that later. Or maybe just being around him would make her remember. Ever since she'd gotten here, quick glimpses of the past seemed to pop up in her head. And she knew, that coming here had been the right thing to do.

She turned off the water, stepped out of the shower, and grabbed the towel Jack had gotten her. She took of the loose bandages, and threw them in the trash. Thank god she'd brought some new ones with her. She carefully wrapped the towel around herself, and opened the bathroom door, before stepping into the hallway. She found her bag, and tried to bend down to pick it up, but had to give up do to the incredible amount of pain that came from her bullet wound.

"Emily? You okay out here?" Jack's voice seemed worried.

"Ehm.. I can't seem to get my bag up from the floor.." She blushingly said.

In an instant, he was at her side, holding it up for her.

"Thanks. I hate to ask you this...but-"

"What do you need?"

"Ehm.. An underwear and some pajamas".

Jack found a _very_ nice black lace one, and a light pink pajamas shorts. Then, helped her get them on. Emily still had her towel wrapped around her upper body, and realized that she would have to remove it for Jack to help her with the rest. Jack looked in her bag again, but noticed that she hadn't packed any sweaters.

"I don't think I've brought any sweaters with me", Emily said to him. She'd been in such a rush when she'd packed, that she hadn't thought about bringing any. And she mentally cursed herself for not thinking that far.

"That's okay, you can borrow one from me if you want to", Jack told her.

She blushed again. "Yeah, that would be great".

She followed him to his bedroom, where he looked through his closet and found a gray henly long sleeve shirt for her. Emily nervously removed her towel, and Jack tried as hard as he could not to look at her exposed breasts. Which he found _very_ hard. God, this was not the time to think like this, Jack thought to himself. But damn, he had secretly wished for this moment to happen ever since he'd met her. Under different circumstances off course, but still..

Emily avoided his gaze as best as she could. Even if he said not to, she was still _very_ embarrassed over the fact that she could not seem to dress herself. At all. And the fact that she once again was exposed to him, made her heart rate jump up. What was it about this man that made her feel like this? He wasn't her boyfriend, obviously. Still, something inside of her made her wish that he would be.

Jack's gentle hands lightly touched her skin, and made her snap out of her thoughts. He probably noticed her goosebumps that had popped up all over her body.

Emily suddenly felt very warm, and she could feel her feet starting to give away under her. She let out a hard breath, and placed her hand over her stomach. Jack placed his hands on her shoulders to hold her up, and looked at her with worried eyes.

"Hey, look at me. It's okay, I've got you". He put his hand on her forehead again, noticing the sudden change of temperature. It was warm again, the fever was probably coming back.

He gently pulled her up in his arms, and laid her down on the couch.

"I'll get you some aspirin, okay".

"Okay, I have some new bandages in my bag, do you think that you could..?"

"Yeah. Sure. I'll be right back".

Emily breathed hard, and for the first time, she noticed how tired she was. Her body was on fire, and her legs felt numb. She pulled the sweater up over her stomach, and as careful as Jack could, he placed a new bandage over her wound, gently stroking his fingers over it, making Emily shiver even more. Then, he sat down next to her and Emily carefully sat up and swallowed the pills with some water.

The pain was still there, and Emily leaned against Jack, who put a cold cloth against her forehead, and then placed his arm around her.

"I can't thank you enough for helping me, Jack. I'm beyond grateful". She looked up at him, and he smiled a warm smile back to her.

"I'm so glad you came here, I couldn't stand the thought of you being all alone up there". He softly told her, while gently stroking her cheek.

"Jack, am I in trouble?" She suddenly remembered what she'd thought about in the shower.

"What do you mean?" Jack didn't want to upset her by telling the _whole_ truth. Yet. She surely was though. He didn't want to think about what could happen when Victoria found out that she was gone from the house. Maybe she already knew. And then there was Aiden..

He swallowed. No. No one could take her away from him. Not now, not if he had anything to say about it. He promised himself that he would protect her, god knew she'd already been through enough through the years.

"I mean, about earlier. When I told you that I was sorry that I'd lied to you about who I was. I just quickly remembered that I'd once told you that I was Amanda.. And everyone keeps calling me Emily. I just don't understand why".

She looked at him with such wondering eyes. And he found himself getting lost in them. They were so beautiful, so warm and deep.

"Ehm, yeah. It's true that you're original name is Amanda. You changed it a couple years ago. To Emily. Actually you switched names with Carl's mum".

"With Amanda? My friend?"

"Yeah. You remember her?"

"Just that we were friends. I don't remember how though, just that we were. And that you guys were married, and have Carl together. She died, right? On that boat, I was with her when she died".

"Yeah, she's dead. And yeah, you were".

"I'm so sorry, Jack. You must have been devastated".

"It was hard, and complicated too".

"How come?" He seemed sad, but not exactly devastated.

He drew a long breath. "Well, the whole time that I knew her, I thought that she was someone else".

"You thought that she was Amanda? Me?"

"Yeah. Do you remember anything from your childhood?"

"Not much, but we were friends, right?"

Jack smiled. "Yeah. Best friends actually".

Emily felt her heart melt. She knew he felt familiar. "What happened? Why did I change my name?"

"That's a pretty long story".

"Please tell me. At least some of it. I need to know". Emily looked at him with pleading eyes, and Jack cold simply not resist her. He knew that she probably needed sleep, and rest. But he also knew how stubborn she was. He could tell her some of it. The rest would have to wait a little until she got stronger.

"Well, we met when we were 9 years old. You and your dad, David owned this beach house here in the Hampton's. And you had a dog, Sammy. You were throwing a stick for him at the beach, and I came up to you. Since that day, we were practically inseparable, and became best friends".

"Aaaw, that is so sweet. I wish that I could remember him, and my dad too. What about my mum? Is she dead?"

"No. she was sick though, when you were a little girl. And she went away to get better, but you're dad told you that she was dead. To protect you".

"Protect me? Why?"

"Well, apparently she tried to drown you when you were five".

"Oh. Wow. What about now, did she get better?"

"Yeah, she did. She came back right after Carl was born. And of course she thought that Amanda was her real daughter. But I think that you sort of made peace with her. I don't know exactly how things happened. You should probably ask Nolan about that. You guys sort of made some arrangement for her. With money and stuff like that. The most important thing though, is that she loved you very much, and she was so sorry for the things that happened".

Emily sadly listened to him. She was happy that he told her the truth, even if it was hard. She could feel tears streaming down her cheeks. And Jack softly wiped them away.

"Are you sure that you want to hear more?" He hated to see her cry.

"Yes, please. Go on".

"Okay. So, you know Victoria?"

"Yeah".

"Her last name is Grayson, and her husband Conrad has this company. Grayson global. Your dad worked there with him, and he had an affair with Victoria".

"WHAAT! No way! Tell me that's not true".

"I'm sorry. I wish that I cold". Jack felt bad for her. That was probably the last thing she wanted to hear, but he figured that the truth would come out someday anyway.

"Conrad eventually found out, and he and the rest of the team, including Victoria sat your dad up to take the fall for some pretty awful things. He ended up in prison, and later he got killed in there".

More tears came down her face. She couldn't believe the things he was telling her. That was beyond awful, horrible, despicable. She couldn't find words.

"So he was actually innocent? He didn't do one thing wrong?"

"No. The only wrong thing he did, was to trust the wrong people I guess".

"Did I end up in foster care after that?"

"Sort off. But seeing as the whole world thought of your dad as a terrorist, no one would take you in. And you ended up in some pretty bad places. There was this shrink, paid by the Grayson's to tell you lies and make you believe them".

"So they pretty much brain washed me? But I was just a kid, Jack!"

"I know. It's horrible what you went through. I don't quite get it myself. Your dad thought that Victoria took care of you, but the only thing she did, was make it worse for you. When you got older you ended up in juvie, and there was where you met Amanda. Or Emily. You guys changed identities. When you got out. Nolan actually picked you up, and he gave you this box that your dad had made for you. With diaries that he had written, and pictures. So you finally could know the truth. And then you became Emily Thorne. You met this man, a Chinese one I think. He trained you so that you could have revenge on the people that had wronged your dad".

Emily was in shock. This was a hell of a story. What kind of people would go to this length to wrong an innocent man and his daughter? It was sick. Beyond sick.

"I'm so sorry, Amanda. I've probably said too much". Jack only noticed after, that he'd called her Amanda. He had never done that before. And it seemed like she noticed too.

"You called me Amanda".

"Yeah, I-I've wanted to do that for a while now".

She smiled at him. "I like it".

Jack swallowed, and nodded. "Yeah, me too". He looked at her. Borrowed his eyes into hers.

"So that was why I lied to you, about my name". It was more of a statement.

"Yeah. When you finally came back, you used Emily Thorne as your name, and I was such a fool for not figuring out who you really were. Sammy though, he recognized you immediately".

"He was still here?" She was surprised, she didn't think that dogs could live that long.

"Yeah, it's a miracle really. That he lived so long. When you went to foster care, you couldn't take him with you, so you gave him to me. And I promised you to take care of him. While you promised me to come back for us".

Emily felt a lump in her throat. It was almost too good to be true.

"I never forgot about you, you know. I waited for you, every day for 20 years. Wondered where you were, what you were doing, what you looked like. I never lost hope that one day you would come back". He wanted to say "come back to me", but that was probably a little too much. He meant it though. He remembered fantasizing about what she looked like, if she would still be the same person. If she still remembered him, or thought about him.

"Oh Jack". She bit her lip, and looked at him with teary eyes, swallowing hard. She wanted to say that she felt the same way, that she never forgot about him ether. That she'd thought about him every day since she'd left him. She wanted to tell him that so damn badly, but the fact was that she couldn't remember. 5 minutes ago, she hadn't even remembered that they'd been friends.

Still, there was something so powerful between them. She couldn't possibly just have forgotten about him, right?

"I'm sure that I didn't forget you ether, Jack. I mean, how could I've possibly done that? You took care of my dog, and I love dogs. And I can't think of any other person who would have done that".

She gently took his hand in her own, and looked straight into his deep ocean blue eyes.

"Thank you so much, Jack. For taking such good care of Sammy for me. I know he must have loved it, why else could he have lived so long, huh?"

Jack smiled. He pressed his forehead against hers, and closed his eyes. He wanted to believe her. So bad. He wanted her to be right.

Emily carefully slipped her hands around him, and leaned in for a tight hug. And closed her eyes. This was how things was supposed to be. It felt so good to be wrapped around him, to feel his warm skin against her own, and to breathe him in. He smelled so damn good that it truly felt like finally coming home.

"I have a photo, actually. Of the two of us, and Sammy". Jack suddenly said. He got up from the couch, and found the picture David had taken of the three of them on the beach that day.

He sat down again next to her, and gave Emily the photo.

She looked at it with exited eyes. They looked so happy, and she couldn't help but smile. She gently traced her fingers over it, and suddenly a flash came through her mind.

" _Dad! Uncle Bill's here"._

" _Look what I have here. Happy birthday"._

" _Aaw, what's his name?"_

" _That is up to you. What does he look like?"_

" _Like a Sammy"._

" _Sammy. Okay, well Sammy it is"._

" _Thanks, daddy"._

"Emily? You okay?" Jack's voice came into focus, and the scene in her mind ended.

"Yeah. I-I just remembered something. About Sammy. My dad gave him to me on my 9th birthday".

"You remembered?" Jack looked down at the picture. Like it had some magical memory button.

"Yeah. Hopefully I'll remember more and more about the past. I feel so lost without all of my memories, Jack. I hate it".

"Hey, hey. It'll be okay. I promise". Jack whispered to her, while hugging her against him again.

"I kinda like you like this, you know?" He smiled a little to himself.

"How come?" How could he like that she was almost totally without memories?

"You're so unlike what you're usually like. It's not good that you don't remember things. Just, I like seeing you this vulnerable, that you're showing emotions like this. It's beautiful. Your beautiful, Amanda". The last thing came out almost like a whisper, but she heard him. Loud and clear.

Her moth dropped open a little, her heart was wildly beating in her chest, and she looked up in his eyes. They were so beautiful, and she had the feeling that he could see right through her.

"You really think so?" she whispered, never breaking his gaze.

"Yes. Yes, I've _always_ thought that. No matter who you were, no matter what named you called yourself. That's never changed".

He was so damn close to her, she could feel him breathing, and the light stubble's on his cheeks gently scratched her skin. She closed her eyes, felt his thumbs lightly caressing her cheeks, and then his lips slowly crashed against hers.

It was the softest kiss she'd ever felt. She was sure of that. She pulled her hands up to his chest, and slowly pulled them up around his neck. She could feel his breath hitching when she came in contact with his bare skin, which only encouraged her, and she pressed herself a little more against him. Her hands went up in his soft hair, and she pulled him even more to her. Until suddenly breaking apart from him, clutching on to her stomach as a deep moan escaped her moth. God, the pain was suddenly back again. Full force.

"Sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you". Jack had been so caught up in the moment, that he'd totally forgotten about her injuries for a second. Or three.

"It's okay. I'm okay. She choked out".

"No. You're not. You need to rest. You need sleep, okay".

Emily just nodded. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She looked at him.

"Lie down, please. I hate seeing you hurt".

Emily carefully laid down on the couch, and Jack wrapped a blanket over her, before kissing her forehead.

"I'll be right here, okay. I'm not going anywhere. You're safe here with me".

Emily nodded, and felt the tiredness washing over her like a summer breeze. "Okay".

And in a minute, she was fast asleep.

Jack just sat there, on the couch and looked at her. His heart was still beating very fast. She looked so peaceful sleeping, here, on his couch. He kinda wished he'd offered her a better place to sleep, like on his bed. He could have taken the couch. Or stayed there with her.

He closed his eyes, and ran a hand through his hair. No. Emily was not his girlfriend, but damn did he wish she were. The deep, powerful connection between them was still there. Maybe even stronger. Out of all the people she could have turned to, it was here, him she'd gone to. Not Aiden, not even Nolan. Him, Jack. What did that mean?

When she'd been in the hospital she hadn't even remembered Aiden. She'd been afraid of him. Would she still feel like that tomorrow? What about when she eventually got her memories back, would she still choose him over Aiden? Or would she run right back to him? Jack didn't think he could handle losing her again. At least, not to him. And what about that _damn_ kiss they'd just shared? Would she still remember that tomorrow, or had it been just "in spite of the moment" kind of kiss? A result of her being high on emotions and pain meds? That was certainly not how it felt like. It had been the most real thing he'd felt in a _VERY_ long time. God, he was so in love with her. He'd always been, but seeing her like this, so vulnerable and emotional, made him fall for her even more.

Suddenly, his phone rang, and he snapped back from his thoughts.

"Nolan, he-"

"Jack! We have a MAJOR problem. It's Emily! I've been keeping an eye on her through the surveillance camera at the manor, but now I can't seem to find her _anywhere_. She's not in her room, the bathroom, living room, hallway. Nowhere! Jack, this is serious, what the hell have-"

"Nolan. Stop, breathe. She's here okay".

"WHAT?"

"Emily's here. At my place".

"Whaat? How on earth is that even possible? She just got back from the hospital".

"Well, you know Emily. She's a fighter".

"I'm well aware of that, Jack. But how the hell did she do it?"

"I don't know. She probably went out the fire escape. Didn't you say there was one?"

"I did. I just didn't think she could pull that off. Guess I was wrong. Thanks for keeping me in the loop, pall. I've _literally_ worked my brain off to try and find her here", he snorted out.

"I'm sorry, okay. I was going to tell you. I was as surprised as you were to find her at my doorstep in the middle of the night".

"Okay. Let's just be happy she's at a safe place". Nolan breathed out. He knew that if there was one person Emily would be safe with, it was Jack.

"How is she?"

"Asleep. For now. She doesn't seem to remember much, but I think she sort of knows who I am. And you. I told her a little bit of what happened in the past. With David and Victoria, her mom and Amanda".

"What? Why did you do that, Jack? She's SICK".

"I KNOW, Nolan. But what was I SUPPOSED TO DO, HUH? LIE TO HER?"

"No. I didn't mean it like that. Don't you think she'll remember for herself soon? I don't want her to be any more upset about all this mess".

"I know. I'm sorry I yelled at you. But she was asking you know, and you know how stubborn she is".

"I know".

"I didn't tell her _everything._ Just the most basic stuff. She needed to know why she'd changed her name, since she remembered when she told me that she was Amanda Clarke. And everyone's calling her Emily, so.."

"Okay, fair enough. How about Aiden?"

"She hasn't mentioned him yet".

"Well, that may be a problem. Maybe not for her, but rather for him.. You know how he is. Sort off".

"I know enough! Does he know she's not at the manor yet"?

"No. I wanted to tell you first. I'm actually a little worried about what he might have done had he known".

"You have all right to be. He's crazy".

"Jack, he's had a tough life. Doesn't that remind you of someone else?"

"That's not the same, Nolan. I don't trust him. At all!"

"Fair enough. Just take care of her".

"You know I will".

"Tell her I said hi, okay? I'll stop by tomorrow".

"I will. See you tomorrow".


End file.
